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Life in Ambridge: Comments week of February 15, 2019
Life in Ambridge: Comments week of February 15, 2019
Kate's Yurt
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THIS POST IS CLOSED "longer off topic comments' - Episode 8 Life Outside Ambridge Beach Chairs
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ReplyDeletefar too clean.
ReplyDeleteYou can't see inside Parsley !
DeleteDont think Kate’s yurts are nearly as posh as this one !
ReplyDeleteBut thank goodness Roy refused to take her in and she has gone to sponge on Lilian and Justin instead.
Wonder how long Justin will put up with her though.
How do you do it, Ruthy?
ReplyDeleteHas Kate's business stopped altogether in her absence. Has she got to start from scratch (or is that burn)?
Yes definitely worth waiting for Maryellen. I hope Toby appreciated it.
ReplyDeleteGary two of the youngsters had taken themselves into David's hay barn, and it only takes one dropped cigarette to set hay ablaze.
Having said that my dad, many years ago, took the risk of not interfering when a couple of youngsters took up residence in the hay barn for a couple of months. The lad's parents had got utterly fed up with him and chucked him out. Their parents and the rest of the village knew where they were, and it was warm and they were safe there, and it gave everyone involved a breathing space.
Ruthy that yurt doesn't look like it would be uncomfortable at all. Not how I'd imagined them to be I must admit.
ReplyDeleteI'm also glad that Roy did not offer to take Kate in. What a pain she would be to live with!
Poor Mia, she and Poppy were trying to do a kind thing. Will had quite a turn of phrase for Tracey didn't he!
Mia doesn’t sound ‘right’ to me. I think she is frightened - of Will or for Will? As I remember she and Jake were at their father’s on the night of the hit and run when her mother came home in a hysterical state, but I wonder if she picked up on any of that. Why didn’t she want to go with Jake to live with their father? Is it to do with Poppy?
ReplyDeleteI think it is to do with Poppy,Maryellen.
DeleteShe is trying to be a little mother to her.
I thought Will was lovely with her last night.
As long as the script writers heard him when he said that he didn't want anybody else now that Nic has died.
I'm sure the scriptwriters heard 🤣, but will they remember?
DeleteWill can't be held to a desire to love no more, expressed one year after his wife died. But not yet.
DeleteHe should apologise to Tracy though.
But without giving her ideas, of course.
DeleteLove the yurt, Ruthy. Wouldn't mind one at the bottom of my garden, but would have to replace the potting shed. It would certainly make a feature, although not very practical, couldn't keep gardening equipment in such a nice thing.
ReplyDeleteLilian needs her head examined, and Kate still doesn't get the frostiness from other members of the family.
No surprises there, Stasia ! How could Kate face the fact that she has crossed the line with her family, just not in her nature. I do wonder why Roy was being so helpful, he knows her, & he knows what she did.
DeleteIt was perhaps in Roy's interests to ensure that Kate didn't get _desperate_ for somewhere to live.
DeleteA rash promise, Will - who can know what might happen in the future ? Problem is that Mia is only 12, she'll hold on to what you said & feel betrayed, even many years down the line, if you fall in love again.
ReplyDeleteMeantime, apologize to Tracey, no saint, any more than you are, but the way you spoke to her was despicable, & completely undeserved.
Too right,Carolyn.
DeleteDo you know,I think "Will " will.
I felt a slight concern over Will’s comment to Mia, about Mia and Poppy being enough for him. Sounded a bit suffocating to me. She’s just turned 13 and I worry that he will be jealous when she finds a boyfriend. Probably reading far too much into it. It’s early days in the bereavement for both and she is still very young.
DeleteShould have said if and when she finds a boyfriend or girlfriend. Apologies.
DeleteLike Seasider I felt a slight unease about Will’s comments to Mia, I doubt that he intended them to sound that way, but I can see Mia feeling very burdened by them.
DeleteWill should apologise to Tracey, who hopefully will not be too offended by his behaviour, after all she was being pretty crass on Thursday.
I wonder how long Justin will tolerate Kate at the Dower House, Lillian really does take him for granted, will feathers fly?
I reckon Ruairi will move to a local school, his own choice of course, prompted by Brian but in this way he can be closer to Ben and will become a permanent Ambridge resident or nearby.
ReplyDeleteYes I reckon. you are going to be proved right,Basia
DeletePity.
I would prefer it if both Ben and Ruari went back to being silent members of the Community.
I may be proved wrong but at the moment I can't see what either of them adds to the programme.
Same here Lanjan...
DeleteContinuing the natural population of an English Village I would assume.
DeleteTo me, Ruiari relocating to Borsetshire college alongside Ben sounds exciting. It is time two teenagers become more prominent. They are filling a generation gap They might be important for the future of Ambridge + TA - Brookfield for Ben. but not sure about R.
DeleteMust add Mia to the teenage genaration, with Will + Poppy.
DeleteMummy Mia, Step daddy's little helper.
ReplyDeleteWhat I didn't understand is - how Kate always gets her own way. She now has a comfortable home, in the Dower House, but never seems to contribute to anything.
ReplyDeleteI don't really understand either, Miriam ! However, have noticed in general that often the most objectionable people succeed in getting their own way - peoe find it easier to give in. I guess that happened as she was growing up & it's become a habit, until now. Not with Lilian, who presumably hasn't suffered the tantrums, flouncing & poutings, but I do wonder what the attraction is. I mean, Lil is fun, but Kate ? No - sex on a bouncy castle is where her notion of fun begins & ends, I fear. Zilch sense of humour, unlike Lil.
DeleteNot peo, people...
DeleteShe had a splendidly successful business. Erm, didn't she? No? Oh.
ReplyDeleteShe certainly bigged it up for a while, Bootgums, but seems to have become bored now...
DeleteHas Kate ever stuck at anything? Business, Master's course, marriage, emigration, even (maybe a bit harsh) motherhood? But, as a character that we enjoy getting irritated by, she's brilliant!
DeleteI agree with Seasider and KPNuts - I feel Will is a very uncomfortable adult for a child to be around. It may be as simple as Mia trying to be a practical replacement for Nic and showing incredible maturity in her understanding of Will’s reactions and needs, but I think there could be more behind her own behaviour. She has certainly learned to invoke Poppy’s name to avert trouble.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering about the relationship between Kate and Lilian? Since I've been listening to TA I can't recall them ever being very close. Then I thought, is there a motive in Lilian's invite to stay at the DH and not simply her feeling sorry for poor abandoned Kate. Is she bored with moneyman Justin? Maybe he is so busy doing good works building houses for the homeless of Ambridge that she is feeling neglected.
ReplyDeleteHaving A delinquent adolescent about the house will certainly spice up life a bit, but Lilian doesn't own the DH and did she even discuss with Justin having a lodger?
Lilian is no Jenny!
I think she and Kate had the odd moment when they were both living at Home Farm. Brian was fed up at times, particularly when the drinks cabinet was indulged by them. I can’t see it going down well with Justin and could strain the relationship, although as he’s been pretty absent lately he may just move on to the next project. His ex wife warned Lilian of his faithlessness. Perhaps the two “Merry Widows” will end up taking over the Dower House. Unless he evicts both of them.
DeleteI still want to know about Kate’s cottage. Who is living there, or is it still a holiday cottage? If it goes pear shaped with Justin they both might have to move there.
I think that Kate's cottage is let but isn't it Lilian in fact who owns the Dower House as Matt secured it for her?
DeleteI have a niece who considers me as an older sister, not an Aunty. We have a far closer relationship, than niece with her Mum - sad but true. I would do anything for her.
DeleteIt was in trust to Lillian, but Justin didn't want to live in Matts property so Matt sold it to Justin, not sure what happened to the monies though.
ReplyDeleteEven if Kates property is let, provided it is on a short term lease they can give notice speedily.
She would have been foolish to do otherwise. Lillian likewise has plenty of property she could access easily, so no problems about housing.
Thanks CowGirl, perhaps that's what was inside Matt's suitcases.
DeleteWhy couldn't Lilian come up with something for Brian and Jennifer?
DeleteMany of us did wonder that Bootgums. Lilian has quite a few properties, certainly more than a dozen including aI seem to remember some old building converted into flats.
DeleteWhen Justin bought the Dower House Matt told him, and Lilian, that the money was paid into the Trust for Lilian and that he (Matt) has resigned as one of the trustees. That presumably (if he did resign) left just the solicitor as sole trustee. What Lilian has to do to get at the moment nobody has ever mentioned.
I assume all Lilian’s properties are outside the enclave that is Ambridge. Inhabitants who take up permanent residence outside the enclave are seldom or never heard of again.
DeleteShould have proof read
Delete" What Lilian has to do to get at the momey nobody has ever mentioned."
I always listen to the Sunday Omnibus, as I like the continuity and always pick up on things, which didn't mean anything, at that time, in a weekly episode.
ReplyDeleteI have thought, and this weeks perusals relate to LL.
1) Jill made a remark about Leonard being very pleased the Elizabeth was a Pargetter
2) As LL had parapets added, how did the lovely Nigel, fall off the roof. Surely this would be a barrier.
I am starting, and sadly, thinking that there is more to Leonard + his son, than first appears and its concerns LL.
Sorry, my ideas are getting the better of me again It could well be another TA red herring, which often happens which I fall for.
Were the parapets added after Nigel fell off the roof? Or perhaps they're very low and not useful as a barrier, more a tripping hazard.
DeleteMaybe they don’t go all the way round?
DeleteLower Loxley roof was mentioned at the end of More or Less tonight.
DeleteWas it in connection with the length of Nigel’s scream? I think people calculated that Lower Loxley would need to be tower block high to produce a fall time long enough to accommodate the amount of time the scream lasted.
DeleteYes it mentioned the length of his scream, and brought in the newly identified parapet A 'spokesman' from the Archers responded to a comment from a More or Less listener
DeleteThere was also mention that Nigel could have screamed while sliding down a pitched roof before falling.
DeleteLeonard's son is called Simon. Not a propitious name. There was Simon Gerrard, who married Debbie and was unfaithful, and Simon Pemberton, who courted Shula (and hit her) and then Debbie (and hit her).
ReplyDeleteLoved the continuity man’s comment at the end of tonight’s episode! Well L & R storyline as predicted here a while back! I am just relived that rent arrears is the reason for return to LL I feared Lily might be pregnant 😮 at one point in the conversation. Hopefully before the start of the next Uni year L & R will be an item no more!
ReplyDeleteI heard part of the Omnibus today and caught E counselling session once again - and the tears ran again. Supberb episode and as for Alison Dowling 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Did you notice the telling use of ‘we’ (not ‘I’) in Lily’s last sentence? She still considers them to be an item.
DeleteI did Maryellen.
DeleteAnd yet....... she does clearly see his faults, yet remains enamoured !
I wish she wasn't.
Oh what a lovely episode.
ReplyDeleteSo pleased that Lily has returned.
Not quite sure what Alan has in mind or what it has to do with friendship bracelets -Parable of the Talents?
It reminds me when I was at Sunday School and we had to use our "talents"
I could never cook but a friend and I decided we would make marmalade and sell it.
It would have been fine had the blooming stuff set but it was just so runny.
Russ has no shame. Glad they got booted out of apartment in Manchester but not glad that Russ is ever the sponger. Good that Lily threw at his face his "divorce". Maybe this time, Lily will have him do work at LL - my suggestion - he can start with scrubbing the toilets.
ReplyDeleteBy the way although Lower Loxley doesn't appear on the 'Archers' locations' the BBC did issue an official jigsaw puzzle with LoLo on it, drawn in the style of all the other buildings featured as Ambridge locations.
ReplyDeleteIt does not have a parapet!
Mmn....questioned Lily's assumption that she could just swan back to university come October, having abandoned this year's course. It didn't sound as if she'd spoken to the authorities, put anything in place.
ReplyDeleteThough they still present as a couple, the love mist has faded - never has she been quite so sharp with him, even to the extent of sneering at his special coffee !!
The storyline falls down, in my view, because Russ isn't remotely believable any more. Of course we knew he was a parasite, pretentious with it, but openly talking about sponging off her relatives, not seeing that the Manchester dream was over, content to be supported ( & nagged) by a girl half his age....well! Kate's depiction does strain credibility, but the Russ character breaks it.
Agree Carolyn. Russ has no moral backbone, After he has cleaned all the LL public toilets (Ruthy's suggestion) I suggest putting him, and all his pretentious bits and bobs into the hole he has created for himself. Seems he thought he was going to be a painter of leisure freeloading on a rich young woman.
DeleteLily is much brighter and will soon realise that her Zwengali is a fake.
I suppose it never occured to Russ that in order to pay the rent on the Manchester flat, he could go out and get a job - even a part time one?
ReplyDeleteI’m glad to see the scales are beginning to fall from Lily’s eyes at last.
I hope it doesn’t take too long for her to see Russ in 20:20 vision.
Elizabeth is in a very vulnerable state. I hope he doesn't start manipulating her and persuading her to part with money. He could make himself useful helping in the art gallery, and find wonderful subjects in the estate to paint, but I am not holding my breath.
DeleteP.s. and he could sell his paintings in the gallery.
ReplyDeleteBut do they exist ? He couldn't paint while his 'muse' was away, & there's no hint of a production line since then ! The man is a joke & a phony.
DeleteYou are so right about Russ,Carolyn.
DeleteThat man would never have made first base in any educational establishment.
I am amazed that it has taken Lily so long to realise what a pathetic plonker he is.
I am convinced he will be ditched quickly.
On the other hand. I do think she will be able to start again next year at Manchester.
She is a clever girl and with the problems her family have had she will be able to convince the Authorities that she is worth a second chance.
Russ will of course not be mentioned.,
That is, of course, if she is still interested in going back to University in a year’s time.
DeleteShe may well find that she has found her métier, helping to run LL, and prefers to take a management course instead.
As many of us were speculating some months ago.
(I am assuming that parasitic Russ will be well and truly out of the picture by then)
Indeed she may,Archersphile.
DeleteAlthough I was one of those who thought she would come back and run LL ,I would prefer it if once she got the place back on its feet (which of course she will ) ,that she returned to University.
If she doesn't return ,no doubt Elizabeth will start to feel giuilty ,blame herself and have another bout of depression.
Will Lily be a casualty of the scriptwriters' desire to keep young adults in Ambridge rather than lose them to higher education just as they're becoming interesting? I'm thinking of Debbie in particular. Phoebe seems to have escaped.
ReplyDeleteWhy isn’t George Grundy listed on the Characters pages? Why do his family never mention him now? What have I missed?
ReplyDeleteYes, I had almost forgotten about George until your lovely reminder. Thanks.
DeleteHe was shown as a "scallywag" and up to no good. Suddenly he seems no longer around and so assumed, is behaving himself. As if this would happen.
I use the term scallywag, in an innocent way relating to my cbildhood. My meaning is:- a youngster who gets up to no good but thinks its clever + fun.
DeleteI am concerned about Mia, who is trying so hard to take on Nics role as mother to Poppy and careing for Will.
ReplyDeleteShe is only 13 and she should be out enjoying herself at a Theme Park.
The anniversary of Nics sudden + very sad demise is looming, Feb. 23rd and Mia is so aware of this.
I just don't think she is reacting correctly as it seems she is trying to be a mini-Nic.
It is Joe who I am most concerned about.
He blames himself for Nic getting sepsis (the cut she got whilst sorting out his property) and heard her dying confession.
Spot on again, Miriam ! Mia expressing her grief by taking on responsibilities which aren't hers, anxious, & on edge. Let's hope appropriate intervention happens sooner than it did with Elizabeth. It'll be down to Clarrie & Emma, perhaps Alan too. Will & her dad don't seem to be up to it.
DeleteI wouldn’t be surprised if we got another storyline ihighlighting mental health issues, this time in young people and centred on Mia. The growth of mental health problems in young people has featured in the news recently. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, a clear theme emerging. Adoescence, middle age covered, I guess disorientated Freddie will stand for young adult & possibly Christine for the elderly, clinging on to the comfort of the Laurels, as she is.
DeleteOh Will what have you done? In trying to reassure Mia that you will never replace her mum and “that you children are all I will ever need” she now feels she will have to be there for him and therefore must not have male friends / possible boyfriend (Ruarai).....
ReplyDeleteOr girlfriend. Or both. Or none.
DeleteDon't mean to sound preachy! Just realised how almost snarky the above reads - sorry Lady R, not my intention at all!
Delete👍
DeleteMy point exactly the other day - Will is unwittingly leaning too hard on his children to manage his grief. Hard for him and he is trying but struggling. Jake saw it and got away to his father. At least Clarrie and Emma are aware of it and doing all they can to support Will and family, even if Emma went in a bit strong with Mia the other day. This family has shown a lot more insight than the Archers with Elizabeth.
DeleteWorking class common sense Seasider.
DeleteAgree completely Seasider!
DeleteGG I only mentioned boyfriend re Mia as she seemed very happy and taken with her time with Ruari (at the moment) but of course her life is yet young and I stand corrected with no offence taken at all 🤗🤗
Phew...! ☺
DeleteLily really needs to give Russ the boot and quick! He may try to use E's illness to take over and milk LL. What a loser he is.
ReplyDeleteMia is so young and must be grieving for her mum so much.
I hope Mia is not about to develop a crush on Ruairi, which will not be reciprocated - thus causing her more upset. Will and/or Clarrie need to see that she takes time to have some fun and enjoy herself rather than taking all this responsibility for running the house. It may be giving her some comfort to think she is taking on her Mum’s responsibilities but it could have long term consequences on her school work and a normal teenage social life.
ReplyDeleteBut if Mia develops a crush on Ruairi, and it is at least a bit reciprocated (and why not?), wouldn't that takes her away from her 'young carer' mode?
DeleteI thought Molly Button was more to Rory’s taste.....
DeleteBootgums, I didn’t express that very well - I meant it would be a shame for Mia to get really keen on Ruairi only to find that her wasn’t interested in her. She is (I think) a lot younger than him, so I don’t think he would be interested and I wouldn’t want her to get.very upset about it. I remember (eons ago,) having a crush on an older boy and was devastated to hear he thought I was just a kid and that he was taking an older girl out. 😢
DeleteIt's interesting that Lily is simultaneously presented as very bright, and not only in an ivory-tower way, and as unable to give Russ his marching orders, though he obviously deserves them.
ReplyDeleteLily is showing a lot of malcontent towards Russ in Sunday’s episode. I don’t think it is that easy to be rid of him as he is penniless and homeless and he can be very persuasive in his argument to stay with her. Let’s see how long he lasts.
DeleteI wondered if the lack of movement on the divorce is a clue. Whilst I would not wish him on his estranged wife he just might go back with his tail between his legs. Elizabeth could well do without him hanging around right now. Mind you it would be interesting to see the dynamic when Freddie comes home and the script writers might want to have fun with that. I hope not - get him out ASAP Lily.
DeleteMia needs a friend more than anything else. Will is not a good role model for her. Why didn’t he get the wonderful gesture Mia and Poppi showed him with the secret Valentines card. That man is dense as a brick.
ReplyDeleteYes Ruthy, Will has always been lacking in emotional intelligence.
DeleteI like Mia and hope we will hear more of her.
ReplyDeleteHowever I hope it is because the next "issue'is one about Young Carers and not one about a relationship with Ruarie .
She is only just 13 years old .
If eventually they did get together and marry then Ruarie's half sister's husband's sister would be the first wife of Mia's step father.
I think that is right and it would keep it in the family!
…. and also Mia's step-aunt.
DeleteI also like Mia.
I thought it was nice that Jenny stocks up on what used to be Ruari's favourite sweets and he hasn't told her that he doesn't really like them now.
Yes Maryellen.,where is George?
ReplyDeleteThe last time we heard him he had a very middle class accent and I reckon the editor decided to do a Ben on him -wait until he is older and get someone to play the part of George who had a more rural accent.
I take it that there mustn't be a lot of young aspiring actors with that kind of accent around .p
I think most actors can ‘do’ accents, it’s part of their basic stock in trade, and the ‘rural’ accents of Borsetshire must be pretty easy to do.I remember the actor playing David A. saying he once had to stand in for Eddie G, without having ever heard him, and when he asked about the accent was told to throw in a few Arrrr’s!
DeleteI suspect that older actors may be able to do different accents but possibly not young teenagers.
DeleteOn the other hand I had to "teach" drama when I did some Supply Teaching once.
We were "doing " accents.
I tried out my Scouse and Welsh ones.
Each of the pupils was to attempt an accent.
I asked if anyone could do an Irish accent and one girl put up her hand to ask me if I wanted a Northern or Southern accent as she could-and proved
-that she could do both.
I read on Facebook that Keri Davies is writing a book about “The Archers - A Year of Food and Farming” and is hoping to include many recipes as used in the village. He is appealing for listeners to write in with any particular dishes, cakes etc that they remember hearing about in TA. The address given is a Twitter account, (I don’t tweet) but if any of you do, it is #thearchersyear.
ReplyDeleteI expect an email to Keri at the BBC would do, as well.
Keri Davies is getting paid to compile the BBC’s next Christmas money spinner and is expecting listeners to supply his matetial for free? I don’t think so!
DeleteYou never know Maryellen - if I suggested, say, Jennifer’s Game Pie, I might get an aknowledgement as it being from “Mrs Archerphile of North Hamoshire” and receive a nice little fee!!
DeleteJazzer’s pigs might fly! think Jennifer’s cookbook already exists, but could be confusing fact and fiction there.
Deletemaryellen, have no fear - the book exists! In fact, a quick Google finds quite a few Archers cookbooks.
DeleteMaybe Keri Davies' new tome should be entitled "The Archers - Dead Horses & How to Flog Them"...
GG - still laughing 5 mins after reading your post!!
DeleteGary, as long as the title isn't "101 Horse Recipes" by Shula Archer-Hebden-Lloyd. Even worse if the author was Alistair.
Delete😁 I have "The Ambridge Book of Country Cooking" by Caroline Bone!
ReplyDeleteOK, so my earlier post about Keri Davies’s new book went down like a lead balloon !
ReplyDeleteSo how about this: What does anyone think will happen if Russ is still lurking around Lower Loxley when Freddie arrives home?
Perhaps the SWs will have got rid of Russ by then, or they could be planning a few very interesting scenes between the two, with the possibility of a few revelations from Freddie regarding Russ’s blackmail about the drugs. Could be interesting.
With you on that thought Archerphile.
DeleteI still think that Russ was involved, via Ellis, in the drug problem or knows more than he has previously said.
I predict Freddie will have reformed and will want to put wrongs, right.
I am probably very wrong again.
The scriptwriters have the power to reform Russ and I would like them to exercise it.
DeleteSorry Maryellen.
DeleteI just want Russ to disappear for good, without any monies or good wishes.
As to Freddie, who hopefully will return in 6-8 weeks time, he can bond again with his twin sister.
Together they can help each other out, and their Mum.
I have Jennifer Aldridges Archers' Cookbook.
ReplyDeleteOn Kate's return, she cooked for and set a table for 7 people, even though there was no space for her food mixer in the kitchen.
A week or two earlier, at the partners meeting, they were squashed together.
Has the Ambridge Fairy found more space for her?
I also have Jennifer Aldridge's Archers' cookbook, signed by the actress herself. I still use it occasionally and still love the illustrations and notes in it.
DeleteReports on Freddie have been very negative. All his visitorS come away feeling sad & helpless, so I can't see how that will change in a few weeks - it wouldn't be realistic. Seems to me that somehow Elizabeth & Lily will be in abetter state to cope with him.on his return, & that's the objective. It would be interesting if Russ is in fact still around at that stage, so you have a good idea there, I reckon, Archerphile - maybe Freddie will have the gimptipn to punch him in the face, reveal the drug cover up, & finally Lily will see him unmistakeably for what he is ! So far, she & mum have had an honest & loving conversation, but Lily still hasn't come clean about Russ, despite showing her disillusion by the way she talks to him. A step further to go before she dumps him !
ReplyDelete'will have the gumption'!
DeleteIt will be interesting to hear.
DeleteAll I want is Lizzie Lily, Freddie back together again as a family, supporting each other and going forwards.
Oh my rose coloured glasses need cleaning again.
Freddie punching Russ in the face would be sooo EastEnders!! Will the new editor commit the crime of which most of his predecessors have been accused??
DeleteAh, but sooo satisfying to hear the repulsive Russ hit the floor with a thud & a groan, Italian coffee machine falling on top of him, plus Freddie leaping to the defence of his mum & twin, instead of whining & whimpering as was his wont before. Used sparingly & with discernment, a bit of EastEnders rough does not come amiss.
DeleteI am sure the editors concerned knew that too!
DeleteVery true carolyn - a little bit of rough now and again does everyone a bit of good...😉
DeleteI'll say, GG !🤗
DeleteGG 😮🤣🤣
DeleteO la la..!!
DeleteAgree Carolyn!
DeleteI don’t see how violence in any degree, shape or form can do good to the victim, perpetrators or vicarious onlookers/listeners. It makes me feel sick.
DeleteGG. A good bit of rough will would certainly bring Russ down to earth. No violence needed. A handful of nuts or a chocolate digestive? I know what my choice would be. It wouldn't be the nuts. Someone else can have them.
DeleteWhat’s the difference between rough and violence then. Stacie? Both involve pain/humiliation to the victim, the degree is immaterial. Why do people vicariously enjoy those things? What does it tell us about them?
Deletemaryellen, I do believe that stasia (and a few others) were reacting to my very childish double entendre about the word "rough" - not advocating violence in any way, shape or form! The exact opposite in fact...
DeleteThanks for the explanation, Gary. I assumed people were continuing the thread started by the suggestion that Freddie should punch Russ in the face, as in rough him up. It is a relief to know that fellow bloggers are not a bloodthirsty crew but we’re just nudge nudge wink winking! 😀 😄
DeleteIf the scriptwriters can turn Johnny Phillips into the brains of Bridge Farm, they should have no difficulty in turning Russ into a commercially successful artist and the saviour of Lower Loxley.
ReplyDeleteJohnny was expressing an opinion. If I were Bridge Farm Archers I would bid for the land. There can't be that many small parcels of land available around Ambridge. Nobody knows what's going to happen about anything in Britain for the next few years. Land is for the future. If Johnny is right and land prices plummet, Rex might be able to buy some.
DeleteIs that big lump of stone beside the yurt intended for outdoor ablutions?
ReplyDeleteJonny made it clear he had done some research. The only research Tom did was to listen to Natasha. Tony is right, Tom is impetuous and his previous business failures do not put him in a convincing light. Tom is feeling threatened by Jonny's involvement in the farm enterprise, hence the dreadful snide comment about the veg boxes.
ReplyDeleteIf they do buy the land will Tom insist on Natasha being on the deeds?
Jill will be hurt to have been left out of the loop about Elizabeth's depression, but will that put an end to love ins with the wonderful Leonard?
(I think) Tony Archer’s infatuation with Johnny Phillips is beginning to feel creepy.
DeleteTom was nasty to Johnny, and in a very immature way. Tom is the uncle, Johnny the nephew, but you wouldn't think so.
DeleteI am begining to despair of the management of Bridge Farm.
ReplyDeleteOnce upon a time, Pat and Tony had a very clear plan for the farm - going organic, which took a long time and a lot of hard work to achieve. They did well, filled a gap in the market, started the veg box scheme, opened the shop in Borchester, used their own organic milk to produce cheese and yogurt.
But over the past few years, since Helen and Tom have been taking over, all that seems to be getting lost in a plethora of different schemes and ideas. Get rid of the cows but buy in milk to make cheese and yogurt; close the shop but open a shop at the farm, make kefir, ditch kefir; buy different cows but keep some old cows; plant trees; change the veg boxes; sell a big chunk of land to Justin but now buy more land.
Where is their long term agri-business plan? What has happened to Pat and Tony’s (and, latterly, Helen’s) organic principles? Why are they allowing Tom’s latest girlfriend to dictate what they do and don’t do on the farm? Every week a new sure-fire scheme.
I think Johnny has the right ideas and will prove to have safe hands for the future of Bridge Farm. He is more cautious about making changes and lurching from one scheme to another. His farming principles are more like Tony’s. Let easily-influenced Tom and his puppet- master Natasha go off and try their innovative schemes elsewhere and leave the future of Bridge Farm to Johnny and Helen.
That's a convincing analysis & conclusion I think, AP.
Delete(I think) newcomer Natasha is the future of Bridge Farm, just as newcomer Pat was back in her day.
DeleteWell said Stasia and Archerphile
DeleteThe way Natasha is behaving towards Tom who is weak and not very bright will not fool Tony or Johnnie
As for Tony becoming infatuated with Johnnie ,you are obviously joking Maryellen .
Tony can see that the future of Bridge Farm is with his grandson and not with his son who changes his plans almost daily depending on what a "beautician cum fruit juice seller"tells him to do.
Good one LanJan!
DeleteOverstating but not joking, LanJan. I do find Tony’s attitude to Johnny exaggerated, though I appreciate that he is trying to build up the lad’s confidence when praising him to his face. I think it all goes back to John as so much at Bridge Farm does. Johnny is their John substitute, the natural heir of the natural heir, who they adored. Tom isn’t - and knows it. But Johnny lacks enterprise, which means he will carry on as Grandad would have done,and that must be a comfort to Tony in his old age.
DeleteVery well put Maryellen.
DeleteThank goodness Johnny 'lacks enterprise'. He's 20 years old, still learning his trade, and has the sense to know it. Tom made mistakes by showing too much 'enterprise', and was bailed out by members of the family.
DeleteDid Tony and Pat really think so much more of John than of Tom? Tom was the easier son at the time, being less cocky and less inclined to choose unsuitable girlfriends.
With Breixt looming just around the corner, caution should be the word. Johnny is proving very wise for someone so young.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, contact with his other family has been the making of him as he's found his metier & his confidence is growing daily. What hampered him before was not his mum & stepdad ( can't remember if there are any half or step siblings) but his lack of success at school, down to severe dyslexia. He took some persuading to do the agricultural course but actually flourished there. He's shown a fine instinct, emotional intelligence, as well as sound intellectual grasp, clearly not suffering from any other learning disability & buckets of common sense. He also manages to be an extremely likeable character without being a goody goody or a prude. Welcome to Ambridge Johnny, there aren't too many like you there !
DeleteAnd another well conceived vision of our lovely Johnny
DeleteI have high hopes that Russ will soon be leaving Ambridge.
ReplyDeleteHe will possibly go back to his wife.
Lily has seen through him and before too long she will give him his marching orders.
The trouble for me is that Russ does not ring true.
How has he fooled all those people on his way up in education in order to end up as Deputy Principal?
I agree he's implausible, Lanjan, as his personal behaviour is a joke - it's farcical the way he carries on with Lily & Elizabeth. However, I do think all that can run alongside being a competent art history teacher & a reasonable administrator. Like in any other career, one gets some people whose personal lives are disfunctional & disastrous !
Delete( in teaching, as in other occupations, I mean)
Deletemaryellen - I think premature to say Johnny lacks enterprise. He only just started to work on the farm and learning the trade. He can instill his own ideas as he gain experience and matures.
ReplyDeleteNot premature in my opinion, Ruthy. I cannot think of any instance of him showing initiative, leaping at an opportunity, spreading his wings, so far except for announcing (without prior consultation) that he was moving in with Tom. Compare him and Josh.
DeleteRuthy.
You mean the kind of initiative shown by Tom, 16-17 yrs his senior, whose ideas have been known to fail ?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteMy comment referred to the kind of iniative shown by Josh, his near contemporary.
DeleteJohnny is nicer than Josh. Josh may be a Brian/Matt/Justin of the future. You don't want too many of them.
DeleteI think that Johnny is maturing beyond his years. Tony might be slightly favouring him, as he sees so much of John in him. Tom, however, is too easily swayed by silly enterprises which never come to fruition giving the predicted returns. One only has to think about the supermarket sausages, the kefir and the ready meals. All ended in disaster so were dispanded. Will this new and expensive website with Natasha, be any different - I doubt it.
ReplyDelete👍
DeleteI really enjoyed Jill + Peggy having such a heartfelt and heartwarming chit-chat together. It was sad though that Chris wasn't with them, as it used to be.
ReplyDeleteA lot has been said about Russ and I have loved reading the comments.
I wish he departs soon hopefully told to leave by Lily. This will happen when Freddie's release date is known. They cannot live under the same LL roof.
.....with or without parapets.
DeleteFreddie has been living under the same roof with characters far more uncongenial than Russ!
Delete✔️
DeleteOh, I don't know, scroungers, liars, much in common, aside from, perhaps, education & a social veneer. Fellow prisoners have the merit of not targeting his mother & sister, however, which makes them considerably more congenial
Deletecarolyn ✔✔
DeleteCarolyn - are you being funny?
DeleteWould Russ WANT to share a house with someone like Freddie? I know I would feel neither safe nor comfortable being around a recently released convicted drug dealer. Freddie was nothing more than a lying, whining, little selfish ratbag. I wouldn't be surprised if he came out of prison having learnt absolutely nothing...
ReplyDeleteCan't fault your description of Freddie, GG, but Russ just wants free board & lodging. Don't think he's too fussed who else lives in the stately pile. Besides, he is complicit in the cover up over Freddie, because it was in his interests to please Lily at the time...
DeleteOh I know carolyn - I loathe both of them equally!
DeleteI will simply stop listening for a bit if there are loads of scenes involving Freddie & Lily & Russ to come - Oh God! The very thought of those twin's simpering voices, yabbering on & on with their upward inflections sets me genuinely on edge!
So agree about the voices ! He whines & despite her emergent Sterling qualities, she sounds so precious & idiotically pert, which is a shame as she isn't an idiot, a very capable girl who's got herself into a dreadful relationship, down to infatuation & inexperience.
DeleteLike most people on here I don’t much like Russ, but he’d be a good match for Kate, similar age, both totally up themselves, lazy, parasitic..... Lily deserves so much better.
ReplyDeleteWhat a brilliant idea KP, they haven't brought Kate and Russ back for nothing.
DeleteKate + Russ together in the Dower House scrounging off Lilian - a very interesting concept.
DeleteWhat that conjures up is delicious, KPnuts ! 2 giant egos clashing
DeleteThey'd kill each other...
Brilliant idea! The awful couple to replace James and Leonie, whom we rarely hear anyway.
DeleteDerek Fletcher's anniversary party on 29th March, hardly a coincidence, I've already said that Freddie might be released then, and 'Stand by your man', it did make me laugh.
ReplyDeleteAnother dreadful pair of Ambridge residents are Ben and Ruarie
ReplyDeleteThey are extremely rude ,cocky and ignorant.
Public School didn't do Ruarie any good and I doubt the Cathedral School will be much better.
They are a couple of spoilt brats.
But they did ruffle the ghastly man's feathers - that can't be bad !
DeleteGive them a chance - they are just having fun and seem to take their education seriously. Ben doesn't skive off college, does his college work alongside taking on the responsibility for Bess. I wouldn't say that either Riuari or Ben could be classed as ignorant or rude, but these are my personal thoughts only.
DeleteAnd it is only Russ they're mocking, he doesn't count &, besides, he's asked for it !
DeleteI admired Russ’s adult civility in the face of adolescent provocation, and I admired Lily’s loyalty too. Please tell me the Sniggering Pair’s (Ben and Rory’s) 5 weeks will soon be up, LanJan!
DeleteSorry don't agree.
DeleteIt IS rude behaviour not fun.
It does count,Carolyn.
Russ has not personally harmed them and whilst I cannot stand the fellow were I him (or is it he? ) their childish jibes would make me want to throw a punch.
Ben was extremely rude when Lily took Russ to Brookfield as well, embarrassing his cousin.
They are both extremely juvenile in their behaviour-remember the driving of the off road vehicle on the main road ?
Both are spoilt rotten
They are both ignorant and rude.
Can't abide either of them.
Don't go near Ruarie ,Mia .
He will become another smoothy.
Yuk.
In total agreement with you both Lanjan & maryellen.
DeleteTOTAL AGREEMENT!
Maryellen,I wish I could.
DeleteI have a feeling that the new five weeks only started last week.
I may be wrong.
All that sitting around in his room has not done Ben any good at all.
Dreadful pair.
The only Brookfield offspring in my opinion who is worth his salt is Josh.
The only two of Jennifer's offspring who are in any way decent are the two she had before she met Brian.
They can double up on 29th March with a B****t Party -or maybe not.
ReplyDeleteFelicity Jones (ex Emma Grundy) has just said on Front Row that she would like to come back to The Archers bringing Eddie Redmaune (co star in The Theory of Evetything) with her. New Home Farm residents. So fantastic and so unlikely to happen!
ReplyDeleteShe'd like to come back as a cow!
DeleteWhy is Jill so afraid of what Elizabeth might reveal about her childhood to the therapist?Is there something more damning than we have already heard during the session?
ReplyDeleteAs a mother, I think Jill feels that she's responsible for the way her children have turned out and Kenton tried to reassure her.
DeleteThat's what was always held to through the 60s & 70s, ' it's the parents fault'. I believe that view is more qualified these days.
DeleteI suppose it's her age, but Jill sounded very dim about mental illness. Didn't grasp what E. was telling her at all. Anyway, it wasn't very clever ( or accurate) for E to tell her it was far more than stress. Stress is exactly what triggered her depression & anxiety. All the buried stuff is rising now.
I may have mentioned on Ruthy's blog or it may have been on the previous blog that when I met "Jill" at the Watermill Theatre over 30 years ago,the friend I was with told her that she didn't think she was bringing up her children very well.
DeleteI was very embarassed.
I have a photo (taken by my sister) of the back of my head and Jill laughing at my friend
Jill said that she agreed.
To quote Jill Tweedie or Kathryn Whitehorn (can't remember which). "A Mother's place is in the wrong." 😔
DeleteMy theory about Jill's unconvincing behaviour is that the scriptwriters know that most people are clueless about mental illness (I can vouch for that), felt that the general cluelessness had to be represented, and picked on Jill to do the deed, perhaps because of her age (an element of the unconvincingness); and perhaps to represent the notion that therapy is all 'Tell me about your dreams. Tell me about your childhood. What's your earliest memory? Were you in love/lust with your mother/father? Yes, you were, I know best. You're in denial.'
DeleteI agree Carolyn that Jill sounded very dim about mental illness. As if it was so outlandish and unlikely that E could be suffering from something so alien. Has she never, in her long life, come across someone with depression. Unfortunately it is a fairly common ailment but,, even nowadays,still has a stigma attached to it.
DeleteBB - I think it was/ is ' a mother's place is always in the wrong '
DeleteIt is a good job that I am not a therapist.
ReplyDeleteI still find it hard to believe that Elizabeth's behaviour is to do with Nigel's death ,dreadful as it was .
She managed to break up a marriage since that happened .
I would have said it had everything to do with the fact that one minute she thought her daughter was a lesbian which she accepted only to be told that in fact she was having an affair with her tutor who was much older at the same time as her son was messing around with drugs and failing as many exams as he could as well as being abominably rude .
As I say,it is a good job I am not her therapist .
Whatever Rauiri wants to dish out to Russ is OK by me - and Russ was the one that wanted to go to the Bull. He's been in Ambridge for 2 whole days and already having cabin fever. I guess Lily hasn't assigned public toilet cleaning to him.
ReplyDeleteOh dear! Poor Russ didn’t enjoy his trip to the pub and wants to go home. Boo hoo!
ReplyDeleteI agree Ruthy - that juvenile, self-obsessed parasite deserves everything that gets thrown at him.
I’m only sorry that Lily can still stick up for him, though perhaps that will change over the next few months.
Agree with you Ruthy and Archerphile. No pity for Russ, he does deserve anything he gets.
ReplyDelete